How did Jesus handle fear? He modeled self-control in the face of chaos by getting some breathing space and focusing on achievable tasks.
Each day when we watch the news, we find new reasons for fear. Stock market crashes threaten retirement portfolios. DOGE firings make employment feel tenuous. Tariffs promise to make everything more expensive. Wars and rumors of wars abound. But the apostle Paul writes:
“…God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self- control (2 Timothy 1:7).”
How can you face fearful times without shaking in your shoes? The Almighty Peace Giver offers ways to deal with your fears and replace them with power, love, and self-control.
The Problem of Fear
Though Jesus is fully divine, he is also completely human and understands the feeling of fear. In Matthew 14 we read that immediately after the gruesome beheading of his cousin John, Jesus has to get away and deal with His own grief and His disciples’ fear. Perhaps news of the beheading is the reason why so many thousands of people follow Jesus into the wilderness, looking for a king. One of God’s own prophets has been killed. And if things like this can happen, what might transpire next?
Immediate Needs and Achievable Tasks
First, Jesus takes care of his own sense of unrest by focusing on immediate needs. Jesus answers the people’s fears by miraculously feeding the multitude. By doing this, he reminds himself of his own power, thereby defeating his sense of powerlessness in the terrifying situation. When faced with circumstances that seem out of his control, he asks himself, “What can I influence today?” Understanding his ability to affect the situation, he turns to the problem of food and offers a solution.
You can do the same thing. When fearful occasions arise, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Instead of focusing on the problems that make you feel powerless, you can turn your attention to the things that are within your control. Focus on small, achievable tasks. This will help you to feel some measure of self-determination and decrease your sense of vulnerability, even when things seem to be spiraling in the wrong direction.
Retreat for Prayer
After Jesus feeds the people, he retreats for prayer. While friends can be a tremendous source of strength and support, even your closest loved ones can be draining. Jesus knows he has to get a little breathing space to think. So, in this circumstance, Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him in a boat, planning to meet them later.
This fits a pattern for Jesus, whenever he experiences times of stress. Before he begins his ministry, he retreats into the desert for forty days and nights. Mark 1:35-37 says:
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.”
Specifically, because of the paparazzi, Jesus seeks out remote places to be alone with God. Luke 5:15-16 says:
But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds were gathering to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Meanwhile, he would slip away to deserted places and pray.
Finally, in Matthew 26, we read that just before his arrest and crucifixion, when Jesus knows his betrayer is near, he retires to the garden of Gethsemane for a time of solitary prayer. When you face times of stress and fear, do as Jesus did. First, focus on immediate needs and achievable tasks. Then, take the time and space you need to nurture your spirit in prayer. You will find that fear has less of a grip on you.
The Only Thing We Have to Fear
Jesus knows the spiritual truth that millennia later Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear threatens our trust in God. Faith, on the other hand, dispels fear. In faith we find perfect love, which casts out all fear. By returning to prayer, Jesus cancels out any temptation He might have to fear. We need to do the same thing when terror threatens our hearts.
“Do Not Be Afraid”
Back in Matthew 14, we read that after Jesus sends the disciples ahead of him in a boat, they see coming towards them an apparition that looks like a man walking on the waves. “It’s a ghost,” they cry, making the reader wonder if they are thinking of the recently slain John. Too often, our fears get blown out of proportion. We jump to illogical conclusions based on gut reactions, because fear blinds us to a realistic view of our circumstances.
But Jesus’s voice lends clarity to our fear. When Jesus hears the terror in their voices, His first response is to calm them. “…Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’” Never forget that even in the most frightening of circumstances, God is with you. Because Jesus is near, we don’t have to fear.
Peter’s Prayer
Peter asks, “…Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” What he is actually saying is, “Lord, if it’s really you, then let there be no barrier between us. Let that which stands between us become the very thing that brings us together.” For Peter, feeling separated from God is worse than the dark battering waves. Perhaps fear means something similar to you. You can pray that in the midst of your fear, there might be no barrier between you and your Lord, that in Jesus’ presence, the things you fear might instead carry you to Christ.
“Lord, Save Me!”
Jesus commands Him with one simple word, “Come!” Peter responds in faith and meets Jesus on top of the water. But when his fear gets the better of him, he starts to sink.
It is then that he utters the three best words of his life: “Lord, save me!” Even better than his doctrinal affirmation that earns him the nickname “Rock,” these three words declare not just right belief but total dependence on Jesus. No three words have ever sounded more vulnerable, honest, and open to God. Even today when you say these words, the Wave Walker’s heart moves into action. Jesus reaches into your frightful situation and lifts you into His arms.
A Little Faith Can Accomplish a Lot
Finally, Jesus asks Peter a question that to many people sounds like a veiled insult: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” We might wonder why Jesus is being so backhanded were it not for Luke 17:6, in which the Master Landscaper says:
“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
Clearly, Jesus thinks that a little faith can accomplish a lot. Perhaps it would be better understood as Jesus saying, “O you who have a little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus reminds Peter that the disciple does in fact possess this small, productive kind of faith. Jesus wants to know why, with that kind of miraculous belief, Peter would doubt. He asks the same of you.
A Measure of Faith
God grants each one of us a measure of faith. When fearful things threaten, too often we think that only a mountainous belief can save us. But even a small amount of faith can lift us above the circumstances and steady our feet. Since God has given us this faith, he is stunned when we allow doubt to crowd our confidence and make us sink. With the kind of faith he has given, he expects us to walk out to meet him every time. Sometimes we fail, yet even when we do, he takes our hand to lift us up.
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